Plaid Wristlet Purse for Runway Crochet

The second pattern I am revealing from the Runway Crochet book, is the Plaid Wristlet Purse. This purse evolved so much in the process of creation. My original sketch was not a wristlet and it had stripes and a large bow. Quite a few changes were made along the way! I adore surface crochet and have always wanted to emulate plaid in crochet, so it all came together nicely. I love clutch purses, but they can be difficult to carry, so I added a stylish wrist chain to make life easier. If you are more of a traditional clutch purse fan, you could leave off the chain.

The sample for the book is a festive colorful version; I would also like to make a dark version, in black, shades of grey and an accent color like red, gold or Teal. I am thinking I would like to wear this purse with a monochromatic outfit to let the purse take center stage!

Purses to match

My daughter is a purse collector, so everytime she gets a new dress I like to make her a matching purse.  I pick out an element of the fabric print and use that as my inspiration.  I usually use a combination of crochet and embroidery.  For the green floral basket purse, I used a large tapestry needle to do a buttonhole stitch around the top edge, so I would have a base to crochet into.  I traced some of the flowers from the dress and cut them out of felt and added embroidery and sequin details and stitched them with invisible thread to the basket.  I also stitched one of the felt flowers to a clip for her hair.

The black purse is the newest addition to her collection.  It is entirely crocheted with embroidered accents to emulate the fabric print. 

These are fun small projects that make the outfit special and I love that she really appreciates it when I make her something.